The 2017 Essence Festival returns this summer with breakout hip hop star Chance The Rapper. An entertainer and activist, the Grammy award winning artist will join Diana Ross, Mary J. Blige, John Legend and others as a headliner of the Essence Festival presented by Coca-Cola which takes place June 30–July 2, 2017 in New Orleans, Louisiana.

After recently making history as the first streaming-only artist to win multiple Grammys in top categories such as Best Rap Album and Best New Artist, the Chicago native will make his Essence Festival debut and round out the full performance lineup for the festival concert series of more than 40 acts, including new additions: No Limit Records performance featuring Mystikal, Mia X and Silkk and inspired by Master P; BJ the Chicago Kid; Daley; Elle Varner; Emily Estefan; Gallant; Kelly Price; Leela James; and Rhonda Ross.

Weekend ticket packages for this event are on sale now with prices starting at $126. For information about ticket sales, accommodations and the latest news about the ESSENCE Festival visit EssenceFestival.com. Media applications for the 2017 ESSENCE Festival® are now open.

Jill Scott is going back on the road. The neo-soul singer has announced a new set of 2017 Summer Tour dates. After more than one year since the release of her fifth successful studio album, ‘Woman,’ the R&B songstress gears up to hit the road - opening up her first show on June 23rd in Hampton, Virginia at the Hampton Coliseum. The 25 city tour will make stops through Baltimore, New Orleans, New York, New Jersey, Los Angeles and more – wrapping up August 18th in Temecula, CA. Scott is set to perform music from her latest album, ‘Woman,’ along with her classic hits. Tickets are available for purchase http://www.ticketmaster.com/Jill-Scott-tickets/artist/806530.

The actress and songstress continues to expand her brand with a new greeting card collection in partnership with Hallmark Mahogany. The collection is a series of greeting cards that feature design, editorial and sounds all inspired by and created in likeness of Scott. She collaborated with the creative team at Hallmark to develop design themes that reflected her personality, often including layers of vivid colors, natural textures and soothing metallics. She also helped set the editorial ‘voice’ and wrote many of the cards— opting for affirming, optimistic and genuine messages. For more information on the Hallmark Mahogany collection, http://www.hallmark.com/search?q=Jill%20Scott.

Visit http://www.missjillscott.com/ for more information on the tour dates.

Rap legends Krayzie Bone and Bizzy Bone join forces as Bone Thugs from the five-member hip hop group Bone Thugs-N-Harmony, recently released new single “Coming Home” featuring reggae royalty Stephen Marley. This is the first single from Bone Thugs forthcoming album “New Waves” set for a summer release.

The anthemia track was produced by acclaimed Dutch studio visionaries Clifford Goilo and Avedon, and legendary American hit-man Damizza (Jay-Z, Snoop Dogg, Migos and Mariah Carey). The emotive, melancholy track finds Bone Thugs longing for their back-to-basics, midwestern roots amid the hectic whirlwind of fast living and celebrity.

“New Waves” is due this summer on eOne Music. “We love the process of making music so this wasn’t a hard album for us to make,” explains Bizzy of the recording process behind New Waves. “We have so much history with not only eOne Music, but with eOne Music President Alan Grunblatt. He’s the same dude we’ve had all our success with since “E. 1999 Eternal.” Everything we’ve ever done has been successful with Alan. So we’re comfortable with knowing that our project is in good hands." “This album is a breath of fresh air coming from Bone," says Krayzie. "We wanted to give this project a different look. That’s where the album title comes from: New Waves. We will always be a group…we will always be Bone Thugs-n-Harmony, but this is different than from the norm. This is Bone Thugs.” Fans won’t be disappointed with the tracks and features expected to appear on New Waves.